It is desirable in busy households to minimize the amount of work required to treat substrates. Particularly, it is very desirable to minimize the amount of work required to reduce or even eliminate, for example, wrinkles in substrates such as clothing. This is especially true when a consumer has worn clothing for a brief period of time and plans to wear the clothing a second time before having it, washed, dried and/or ironed.
Attempts to reduce wrinkles in clothing have been made, and especially with the introduction of durable permanent press treatments in the textile industry. Such treatments are known to employ polycarboxylic acids to strengthen the fibers of the textile, thereby rendering them less likely to wrinkle. Notwithstanding the above-described permanent press treatments, it is well settled that the effects of such treatments do not last long after the textiles (e.g., clothing) are subjected to a few washing cycles.
A need exists to reduce wrinkles in substrates, like clothing, that may not be subjected to washing, drying and/or ironing, even if the substrates have been subjected to permanent press treatments. This invention, therefore, is directed to a composition that improves the characteristics of a substrate as a direct result of the substrate coming into contact with the composition. The characteristics which are improved by the composition described in this invention include the reduction of substrate wrinkles and/or the reduction of substrate shape distortion.